mathey

Re: The Kingpin, the Maggia and Intergang Ra's Al Ghul. The Kingpin. Fu Manchu. Lex Luthor. All of them are powerful, terrible foes who (unlike most of the crooks and terrorists who run around in spandex) just don't get caught. Ever. And if you think a fat bald guy in a sharkskin suit is weak, please check out the Frank Miller Daredevil story arc called "Born Again". Point is, their potency doesn't come from genetic inclination or radioactive exposure, or from being some one-shot omnipotent cosmic villain. It comes from their wealth, their influence, and their machiavellian intellect. Powers are for wimps.

Re: Character Brainstorming Lot of great ideas, folks, thanks! Think I'll go with the idea that his mother is responsible for getting him away from the influence of his father. I could lay the tragedy on thick and have her die in the process, or alternately just have her up and disappear and take on a new life (a bit like Matt Murdock's mother, come to think of it). I'm considering having his mentor be a former servant of his father's who fell out of favor and was crippled or marked in some other way that forced him into hiding. It definitely sounds like people like the idea of having the nemesis be a sibling or at least a rival spiritual successor. I know I do. Where my character might be loathe to use weapons, they could be a master of swords or knives or guns; or maybe just a weaponmaster in general. I like the idea of the name Equinox, and also the idea of basing the look or "theme" around some light and dark contrast. I also like Scion, as it fits and just sounds neat. An animal name could also work nicely, though I've not found one specific type that'd fit; some bird of prey might work, perhaps. Hrm. Maybe Falcon, with a reference to the whole idea of a hooded servant, albeit one who is no longer under its master's control. As far as avoiding over-writing, I don't think that should be a problem. I sent my friend who's going to run the same info I posted here, so he'll at least know where I'm coming from. Once I get around to putting it together, it won't be any more or less than what you get on a character sheet - unless he would prefer me to come up with the bad guy stats (which I doubt). The idea is to provide him with some plot hooks and provide myself with some fertile ground to roleplay and create from.

Hi folks. I'm new to the boards but not to the system, though I only just got the 5th edition recently. I've talked a friend into GMing a superhero campaign, now, and all that remains for me is to finish hammering together a solid hero. Problem is, I'm kind of stuck. And that's where you fine Hero gamers come in! The gist of my concept at the moment is that the character is the son of an evil mastermind, someone on par with Fu Manchu, Ra's Al Ghul, or the Kingpin. He is taken away from this villain and adopted by a nice family, growing up relatively normally until tragedy strikes and his father's agents try to "reclaim" him. His adoptive family is slain some time later and he learns of his dark birthright. He refuses and decides to become the archfoe of his father and those like him, becoming a masked avenger. Cue theme song. That much I've got. Now what I need is some help with specifics in the origin, symbols, names, and other sorts of details to fill in the cracks. Just to try and elaborate a bit on what I'd like to go for... Name: I was considering calling him The Prodigal, as in the Biblical story, but it just seems a little too abstract. I figure this'll fall into place once I get more worked out in the other details, though. Inspiration: The character is meant to be a Batman-type in a small team in a relatively "standard" four-color Champions game, set in a universe with a history of superheroes. I stole a bit of Shang-Chi's background in there, and I'm leaning toward trying to spin him as a martial artist who has some other crimefighter skills rather than Batman's schtick of being a detective with some other crimefighter skills. If you squint and look hard, there's probably some Daredevil mingled in there somewhere, too. His father: I'm coming up empty on the specific personality, goals, and gimmicks of the mastermind who fathered him. I don't want to just do a straight lift off of an established megalomaniac, but those three bad guys (Ra's, Kingpin, Fu) are probably a good place to start. I'd like to have him based in America and perhaps in the campaign city as well. Any neat ideas for a criminal mastermind who might fit the bill? A nemesis: Daredevil has Bullseye, Batman has the Joker, and I'd like to saddle my hero with his own Bad News archfoe. His father would suit excepting for the fact that I don't see him as the sort to run around and do his own dirty work. No, I'm thinking that this should be some kind of mercenary or colorful crook with possibly sociopathic tendencies. It'd be nice if he contrasted or mirrored the hero in some fashion, too. Adopted family: I still can't quite figure out how the guy goes from the lair of his father's insidious organization to a happy home in America. Is he taken by a hero? A disgruntled former servant? Perhaps a trainer who was grooming him to take his father's place? And why did this person or organization or whatever pick this specific family? Were they random, decent folks? Former agents or sidekicks? Symbol/logo/schtick: I'm struggling to find some iconographic thing to hook the character's costume, gizmos, and name(s) on. You know; like how Batman has all that Bat-stuff and Green Arrow had the Arrow-mobile. Prodigal-mobile doesn't really work, does it? I'm pondering symbols associated with justice, family, or darkness turned to light. Still up in the air, though. Once I've got some solid groundwork conceptually, I'll start cracking on Herodesigner and see what I can come up with. But if you want to offer suggestions on the above, please do so at your convenience. Much appreciated!